The Stepfather

There's a great establishing shot early in Joseph Ruben's The Stepfather that helps set up what the viewer is getting into. After freshening up from murdering his family, Henry Morrison (Terry O'Quinn) descends the stairs -- and into the bloodshed he inflicted. Right from the get-go, we get the mood.

Fast-forward a year, and Henry -- now using the name Jerry Blake -- has remarried into a new family. But his stepdaughter Stephanie (Jill Schoelen) is wary of him. Are Stephanie's fears unwarranted or is there something lurking behind closed doors?

Some may not know this but The Stepfather was loosely based on the John List case. (List, however, would not be apprehended for another two years.) Admittedly, this plays more into the slasher movies of the time but the details of the List case make for a decent backstory in such a movie. Fact is stranger than fiction, after all...

It's also obvious that The Stepfather is a vehicle for O'Quinn and he alone but boy, what a vehicle for him. With a quirk of his lips or a raised eyebrow, he conveys more than a line of dialogue ever could. Only good actors can do that, especially in horror.

The Stepfather is admittedly standard '80s slasher fare but it's good standard '80s slasher fare. It differs in that usually the slasher in question isn't as cunning and calculating as Jerry Blake (and we should be grateful as such). But there are such people in real life -- so be aware (and beware).

My Rating: ****